All posts tagged Giving

• The habit of saving is itself an education; it fosters every virtue, teaches self-denial, cultivates the sense of order, trains to forethought, and so broadens the mind. -T.T. Munger
Saving is a beneficial life-long exercise.

• You can’t manage what you don’t measure. -Bhaj Townsend
It is important to know what your money is for, so you can determine how to manage it.

• Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. -Epictetus.This still rings true centuries after this Turkish slave, who grew up to be a formidable Greek philosopher, said it.

• Money without meaning is like candy without a wrapper. It’s too easy to devour without restraint-Bhaj Townsend
Now that rings true!

• If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free. If our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed. –Edmund Burke.
How true this can be.

• This year, money and I will be friends, and not part company as easily and as often as last year. -Bhaj Townsend
An excellent decision to follow through on.

• It’s not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for. Robert Kiyosaki.
Yes, indeed.

• Money is gone, for most families, by the end of the third generation because the system for understanding its purpose wasn’t built, or communicated or sustained. -Bhaj Townsend
This is so sad because it is avoidable.

At a recent University alumnae dinner, the host asked the attendees, to indicate, by a show of hands,
who engaged in family philanthropy. Nearly the entire room or about 150 guests raised their hands. But when the host followed up by asking who engaged the family in a conversation about the meaning of philanthropy and the impact they want their donations to have both for the organization (s) and the family, only 2 raised their hand.

With the holidays providing a favored setting for family conversations, perhaps this can be an appropriate setting to start a conversation about the impact of giving for the family.

Remember these 3 tips to make your conversation more engaging, should you choose to initiate a family conversation on charitable giving. Know and communicate the intention of the conversation and its intended outcome. Keep the conversation friendly and inviting rather than judgmental and limiting. Have an inclusive conversation by ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to say what is on their minds and in their hearts, without interruption.

When each member feels heard, understood and included, they feel connected. This connection can reap great benefits for families as they initiate or develop their family giving.